When Tomorrow Comes
by rexyoftheopera
Summary: Events of the revolution, with a twist.
1. Chapter 1 - What's new with you?

Chapter 1 - "What's new with you?"

Eponine remained lying still for quite some time, until her usual morning headache subsided and her eyes fluttered open anxiously. She had no idea what time it was, but the light shining through the window of her apartment filled the whole room and was quite bright, so she had to guess that it was maybe midmorning.  
She hadn't any idea of the days' events, only that she would follow Marius to the daily meeting in Cafe Musain, but that wasn't until evening. As much as Eponine loved spending as much time with her love as she could, she did not want to seem too obsessive over Marius even though she secretly was. But when she found she could do nothing better to wait around all day until Marius knocked on her door, she left for his apartment.  
When she got to Marius's apartment building, she climbed the few flights of stairs and found his door open. When she stopped at his doorway he did not seem to hear her, being preoccupied with something she could not tell. After quite some time she spoke up, "Good day Monsieur."  
Marius turned back to her upon hearing her greeting and smiled back at her, revealing to be pulling a gun out of a case which troubled Eponine. She knew that every day neared the death of General Lamarque which only meant one more day closer to the revolution Enjolras and the rest of the ABC were planning. "Good day Eponine. I was wondering when you'd be stopping by." He put the weapon away and hid it under his bed.  
"What's new with you? Are you still pretending to be poor? Come on, I know your grandfather's rich." I smiled putting what I just saw behind me. Eponine could not stop herself from smiling back at him.  
Marius stood up and walked over to her and past her. When he walked out, she followed him.  
As the pair were descending down the staircase, Eponine called after him, "I like the way you talk!" She giggled at her remark and Marius turned back to look at her curiously.  
He quickly remarked, "I like the way you always tease."  
Eponine shook her head quickly knowing that he possibly couldn't comprehend any of the feelings that she felt towards him. Little he knows, little he cares. She thought before Marius called back up to her. "Are you coming or what, Ponine?"  
She shook her head silently in attempt to clear her thoughts and then ran down the rest of the way down the staircase and out the door of the apartment building.


	2. Chapter 2 - Who's that girl?

Marius and Eponine had been friends for a few years by now. They cared for each other very deeply, as they were best friends. It was no shock that Eponine quickly started to care for him as more than a friend, with his witty charm and striking features. They often spent whole days together, even though Marius knew that his family would not approve of him spending time with a poor, street rat. Leading up to the revolution, he increasingly began to care less and less what his family thought.  
******  
**

He found his true happiness being around Eponine even if she was too blind to see it. On this day in particular, even though it had just begun, the two were peacefully enjoying each other's company. They were strolling through the town square where merchants were selling to the few customers that actually had money. "What is to come when the revolution begins? Do you really think you guys could win this thing?"

"Enjolras sure has hope that we will. We'll never know if we won't try though."

"Enjolras has a big heart."

"Long live Patria!" Marius shouted sarcastically, mocking Enjolras.

Eponine laughed at his comment and all the people in the townspeople now staring at the two as if they were insane. "Don't tease the poor boy, especially behind his back. He is a very kind man."

Marius jumped in front of her, and began walking backwards, "Aw, does someone fancy Enjolras?"

Eponine stared at Marius as if he were crazy since this way obviously not true, "Not at all. I have not even spoken to him."

"You are lying." He smirked obviously teasing her just to get a rise out of her, but Eponine could not tell and grew defensive.

"I am NOT lying Monsieur!"

"Why should I believe you Mademoiselle? You're ALWAYS up to no good."

"Would I lie to you?"

He shrugged, "I can never be certain with women. They are full of ill intentions." He laughed as Eponine rolled her eyes, but their conversation was quickly subsided when Eponine heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"Eponine, watch out for the law!" The Thenardiers were once again up to no good. Eponine, fearful of what would happen if she disobeyed her parents left from talking to Marius and stood by where her parents were conducting their latest scam and looked both ways constantly, watching for a member of the guard or Inspector Javert.

Marius looked at Eponine confused and then walked over to her, "Eponine, what's going on?" She constantly looked over her shoulder before she sighed.

"Stay out of this."

"But Eponine -"

"You'll be in trouble here, it's not your concern, you'll be in the clear."

Marius, still confused with what was going on stayed by Eponine's side, but didn't speak a word more about the situation to her knowing the truth about her parents and what would happen if she did not obey them. He heard her father call out to a wealthy looking man, but didn't think much of it. That's when he noticed a girl staring at him. She looked about his age with blonde hair and fancy clothing on. What's a rich girl doing in the slums? He thought.

He looked over at Eponine since she knew everything about almost everyone, he didn't want to think how, but that was a different concern. "Who is that girl?" He asked gesturing towards the girl in the bonnet, who was STILL staring at him.

She squinted then seemed to gasp, "Cosette...now I remember..." She shook her head and looked back over at her love, "Why?"

"She is staring at me. I thought I must've met her one day and forgotten." He shrugged.

All of the sudden they heard yelling coming from behind them and Eponine looked around Marius shockingly, "IT'S THE POLICE! DISAPPEAR!" The disappear was aimed more towards Marius afraid of what might happen if he got caught lurking about, "RUN FOR IT! IT'S JAVERT!"

Eponine ran and hid behind a pillar far enough away from the trouble, but close enough to see what was going on. However, they grabbed her little brother Gavroche, Eponine not even knowing that he had been in the square and for a fact knowing that he wasn't hanging about with her parents' gang. He must've been wandering around or perhaps spying on Eponine and Marius. A wave of relief crashed over her when they let Gavroche down, but she rolled her eyes when her parents and the gang members were released, the man and Cosette nowhere in sight. When everything was cleared up, she met back up with Marius and they continued back on their way.


	3. Chapter 3 - Is Marius In Love At Last?

Marius and Eponine spent the rest of the day until it was time for the meeting in the park to get away from the city, not wanting another event like the robbery to happen once more. They walked and talked for hours and when he offered to buy her dinner she automatically refused ashamed of her status, but when he pressed her on the matter she automatically accepted. She knew she could not say no to him when he begged her and besides, she was very hungry. Eponine got one meal a day if she was lucky. She relied on the pennies that people filled with pity threw her or the scraps found in the garbage, but she did not want to result to that. She hadn't needed to in about a year now.

Eponine put her trust in Marius, which is not something that she rarely gave out to just anyone. She had not been able to trust anyone since her family stopped caring for her and left her to live on her own unless they needed her help in a petty scheme.

Marius and Eponine made their way to the restaurant in the late afternoon and ate over one of their usual witty conversations. Marius took interest in Eponine's catlike, and generally sarcastic responses to everyone of his statements. They constantly teased each other like children. He had not begun to take romantic interest in her immediately when he met her, but over the years she grew on him. They met when they were first becoming teenagers. He soon found out afterwards that she was living on the street since she found more safety there than in her parents' inn.

Her parents still used her even though she did not live with them. Her little brother, Gavroche ran away not too long after Eponine did and he sought out Eponine. Although he lived on the streets with Eponine for quite some time, she realized that he could not stay with her. He needed to be looked after and protected. A few weeks after Gavroche reentered Eponine's life, Marius led her to his friend and fellow student, Courfeyrac. There Eponine told him the situation and begged him to accept Gavroche into his family. Courfeyrac agreed without hesitation and accepted him into the family with open arms where he soon became a student.

That day she seemed to grow up until an adult and Marius cared for her ever since. Of course, he could not let her know how he felt because he did not want to risk ruining their friendship. "Did you hear me Pontmercy?" Marius quickly snapped back to reality.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Aren't we going to be late for the meeting?"

He looked around, surprised at how dark it had gotten. He always seemed to lost track of time when Eponine was around and he jumped out of his chair immediately, "Enjolras is going to be fuming." He shook his head and then put the money down on the table with a generous tip.

We ran into the cafe, knowing the meeting had already began from the shouting we heard coming from outside, walking in. Enjolras looked over at Marius sternly "Marius, you're late."

Another student by the name of Joly piped up, "Marius, what's wrong today? It looks as if you've seen a ghost."

Grantaire, the drunk of the group walked up holding a bottle of wine and grinned over at him, "Some wine and say what's going on!" Marius shook his head and that's when Grantaire noticed Eponine, still standing in the doorway. "I am agog, I am aghast, is Marius in love at last?" Eponine's heart skipped a beat and she knew she was blushing for everyone to see. Grantaire continued once more, "You talk of battles to be won and here he comes like Don Juan! It is better than an opera!"

Enjolras looked at both Marius and Eponine and then turned back to his stern look, but this time directed at Grantaire. While he scolded him, I took a seat at a table with the other women who were busy sewing and gossiping about all of the men.

"It's a shame how serious Enjolras is all the time." One of the women began.

"He needs to loosen up." Another whispered to the group.

"I can help him loosen up." All the girls giggled at this comment.

_God, all these women are harlots. All they talk about is seducing the revolutionaries._ Eponine thought to herself and shook her head.

"What about you?" The girl who brought Enjolras up spoke to me. She had dusty blonde ringlets, somewhat hidden under a white sheet, the working class of women's version of a bonnet. "You seemed to have taken an interest in Monsieur Marius."

"I guess you could say so." Eponine shrugged unsure if Marius returned her feelings. She did not believe he could considering the class difference. Even these women were at a higher class than her.

"Well have you two slept together?" This girl, the one who made the sexual comment about Enjolras asked. She had dark black curly hair with piercing blue eyes.

Eponine gasped at the thought of something like that happening, "No! Of course not! That is highly inappropriate and certainly none of your business anyway." She turned towards Enjolras who was going on about the upcoming revolution and the women left her alone and continued gossiping about "their men" even though they changed escorts almost as frequently as prostitutes.

Little did Eponine know that the next day, her life would change drastically in the next day.


	4. Chapter 4 - One Day More

In the middle of Enjolras's speech, Gavroche ran into the room and tried to get everyone's attention, but could not. Gavroche whispered something to Courfeyrac causing his eyes to widen and yell out at everyone, "LISTEN EVERYBODY!"

Everyone turned to Courfeyrac and then down at little Gavroche, "General Lamarque is dead." It was silent for a while, Enjolras looking down at the ground thinking of something to say. He knew he must rally the people, to get them to fight.

"Lamarque is dead...his death...is the sign we await!" The students started shouting encouragingly as Enjolras went on, but Eponine sat there in horror. She knew this day would come eventually, but now it was almost here. Marius could die in the battle to come and she could not do anything about it. Or could she? That's when she decided she needed to fight.

When Enjolras's speech was over, Eponine walked over to him quickly even though he was busy talking to a few of the other students including Marius, Gavroche, and Courfeyrac. "Monsieur Enjolras?"

He pulled his attention away from the students and focused it on the girl, "Good evening Mademoiselle."

"I want to fight."

Enjolras was taken aback by the girl's words. He longed for more people to join the crusade, but knew it was wrong for a girl to join. If she got killed or even hurt, he couldn't live with the guilt. Marius interjected, "Ponine, do you hear yourself? You could get killed!"

"I'm afraid Marius is right. You can help the other women." Enjolras looked over at the women in pity knowing that most of them were here just to get with his fellow students.

"They don't do anything all day! I can really help!"

Enjolras sighed. He knew Eponine was right, but he still couldn't help her. He pitied the life she led, but not enough to lead her to death. Instead of arguing with the stubborn girl, he shook his head silently causing her to angrily run out of the cafe. Marius looked over at Enjolras as to ask if he could follow, and Enjolras gestured towards the door for him.

Eponine walked alone in the dimly lit street, beginning to cry, but unless you came up close no one would be able to tell because of the rain that had begun to fall during the meeting. She began to picture the perfect life with Marius by her side, but then quickly realized that it would never ever happen. He probably go and fall in love with a girl like Cosette. It pained her just thinking about it so she took a seat on the street corner. She cried into her lap for some time until Marius called out to her, "Ponine?"

She looked up to see him standing by her side, "Hello Monsieur."

He knelt down next to her, "Ponine, please don't cry."

"I cannot sit back and watch you die tomorrow Marius. You know it will kill me." She turned and faced him, grabbing his hand.

He sighed, looking down at their hands, "I cannot let you throw away your life for my sake."

"Monsieur..." She paused looking at the ground to try and regain courage to say what she must, "You are all I have to live for."

Marius did not want to argue with Eponine because he knew she was telling the truth and in all honesty, it was true for him too. "Eponine..." He paused, "I have something to confess. Can we walk?" She nodded reluctantly. When he stood up, he reached his hand out for her and she quickly accepted it and got up as well. As they started walking Marius started, "Eponine, we've been friends for years now and you have been very dear to me." He looked over at her to make sure she was following. At that moment he decided to throw shyness aside, "Eponine, I might die tomorrow and there's one thing you need to know."

"What is it?"

"Eponine, I love you."


	5. Chapter 5 - Back At The ABC Cafe

It took awhile for Eponine to process what Marius had just said to her. He was beginning to feel as if she did not feel the same way when she said, "I love you too...very much actually." She smiled up at him, causing him to smile back.

"Do you truly mean this Mademoiselle?" He stopped walking, looking down at her.

Eponine nodded quietly before going on, "For quite some time too. I was beginning to think you did not feel the same way."

"I was beginning to think the same for you." He said truthfully.

"But what happens now?" Eponine looked puzzled knowing that the revolution did not lead a very high chance of survival. It wasn't like traditional love stories where the pair would be happy and marry immediately. They hadn't any time.

"Well...to start." Marius leaned down and took Eponine's face in his hands and kissed her softly. When he pulled away, she smiled, then pulled him back to her in another kiss, this time more passionately. She wrapped her arms around him and when they pulled away a second time, he lifted her off the ground and spun her around causing the girl to squeal. Eponine did not know that she could have ever felt this happy in her usual glum life.

When Marius set her down, she took his hand and they continued walking through the rain, a weather that would seem to represent sadness, but for the couple happiness knowing that something good could always be found in every situation. He walked her up to her apartment and opened the door for her. When they were about to say their goodbyes for the night Eponine stopped him, "Marius?"

He looked down at her smiling, "Mademoiselle?"

"What will happen tomorrow? With us?" Eponine looked into her palms, afraid to look at him, still somewhat afraid that this was nothing, but a dream.

His smile quickly turned serious as he sat down on her mattress with no bed frame, the only piece of furniture she owned, "I haven't the slightest idea, but I have a feeling I will come out of this alive and when I do," He stood up smiling once more, forgetting the thought, "We will be married at once and we will live happily ever after!"

Eponine walked over to where Marius was standing and hugged him very tight for a long time, fearing that this may be their last embrace. _I will make sure Marius comes out of the revolution alive even if it's the last thing I do._ Eponine thought to herself, but she did not tell him of the plan she was forming in her head.

"Good night Monsieur." She said at last, while pulling away. They kissed one last sweet kiss and then Marius was out the door back to the cafe.

When he left, Eponine slept for only a few hours on her old lumpy mattress and then pulled out a small box hidden in the corner of the room. She silently took off her dress and wrapped herself in a thick cloth to flatten her chest, put on a man's shirt, and dress pants that rose about to her waist. She looked at herself in a small broken mirror hanging on the wall before pinning up her hair and placing a cap on her head. _Ponine, she knows her way around._

With that, she slipped out of her apartment and found herself wandering towards the ABC cafe. All of the students were there, busy as can be so she slipped inside, keeping her head down. Not wanting anyone with authority to notice her and kick her out, she went and sat with the women. When she sat down a few who were not hanging around the others took notice of her, "Well what have we here?" It was the black haired girl. "Looks kind of like Marius's lover, but it surely cannot be."

"It is, but you cannot let anyone know. Ok? Just, act normal or whatever." The girl shrugged and then looked up as a drunk Grantaire came stumbling towards the table.

"Well what have we here?" He smirked at all of the women and they giggled to one another.

"Still drunk Grantaire? I'd have figured you would take matters a little more seriously." The girl piped up, catching his attention.

He walked over to her and sat down in between her and another girl who was actually being productive, causing her to move over. Setting his bottle down on the table, he wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulder. "Have some fun! That's what life's all about."

She shook her head, "You have too much fun Monsieur."

He grinned and started kissing her neck which made the girl gasp and push him away. When Grantaire was away from her she slapped him across the face, and pretty hard too I would guess because it left a large red handprint on his face. "Fine. If you want to play hard to get." He picked up his bottle, stood up, and walked away.

All night the girl kept glancing at Grantaire but none of the other girls seemed to notice except Eponine. When most of the girls had either cleared out, gone home with one of the schoolboys, or fallen asleep at the table, she looked at the girl. When she realized Eponine was staring at her she piped up, "Yes I fancy Grantaire, if that's what you are wondering."

"What?" Eponine was surprised, caught slightly off guard at the girl's statement.

"Well, that's why you're staring at me, isn't it?"

"If you have taken an interest in Grantaire, then why aren't you letting him have you?"

She looked back at Grantaire and then at Eponine, "I probably will, but in all honesty, I care about him more than just a one night thing. If only he would realize." She shook her head, "He's drunk all the time and I know I'm stupid to have fallen for someone like him, but I cannot help it. It pains me to know that he might die tomorrow."

Eponine knew how the girl felt. She sighed, "Even if you cannot let him know how you feel, go to him. This may be the last night you have with him."

The girl smiled and nodded at Eponine's words. She stood up and walked over to Grantaire who was sitting in the corner talking to Enjolras. Poor girl. Eponine felt bad for her. At least Marius cared for her and even when she did not know yet, he was sober and didn't use women. She watched as she pulled Grantaire away and talked with him privately then sighed as they quickly walked out of the cafe together.

She watched Marius talking to Enjolras about something obviously important until he soon fell asleep. In the opposite corner of the room, Courfeyrac and Gavroche were sleeping side by side. Ever since Courfeyrac began to take care of Eponine's little brother, the two became inseparable. This was another part of the revolution she was scared about.

When she finally fell asleep she, and everyone else including Enjolras who was still awake, dreamt about what tomorrow had in store.


	6. Chapter 6 - Do You Hear The People Sing?

Eponine woke up to the sound of shouting. Enjolras was rallying the people and stocking up on weapons. The women were quickly finishing sewing, having been too busy fooling around then to finish their work. Now Eponine began to see Enjolras's reason behind keeping women out of the way. They were a pain and you could never get anything done when they were around.

Everyone started to make their way outside for the parade for the fallen general. When Enjolras exited the cafe, all of the students followed him, Marius immediately behind him. Eponine ran quickly after the students to catch up with Marius, or at least follow him so he wouldn't notice her until it was too late and the war had already begun. A large knot churned in her stomach just thinking about what was about to come.

When they arrived at the parade, Enjolras went to one side of the street, Marius to another. Eponine stood a few people down from Marius trying not to be seen. When the hearse was being driven by, Enjolras sang, "Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men?" At this point the others including Marius had chimed in, "It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!" As quick as lightning the students ran into the street and climbed the hearse. Eponine ran as quickly as she could after them.

Eponine followed beside the hearse, looking up at Marius, completely fine until she heard a gunshot and she looked ahead to see a line of horsemen directly in front of them and an army to the sides of where the parade was headed. The gunshot came from her right side and she noticed a woman had been shot down.

"She is an innocent woman!" One of the students yelled.

All of the sudden gunfire broke out from multiple directions and Eponine knew she had to get out of this. When she saw one of the horsemen riding towards Gavroche she yelled, "Gavroche, watch out!" He turned around and ducked before coming to join his sister.

"What are you doing here Eponine?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but we both know what we're here for. Now let's head for cafe. We'll be safer there."

Eponine and her brother started running to the cafe where they knew the barricade would be built. Right as they were leaving, they heard Enjolras yell, "To the barricades!" _Good timing_. She thought, as they made their way through the scramble going on.

When they made it to the cafe, students were pulling furniture out of the cafe and people were throwing everything they could out of their windows. Eponine and Gavroche dodged the falling furniture and waited inside the cafe. They were the only ones there other than the girl who had an infatuation with Grantaire who was sitting on his lap. They sat there unaware of anything going on as they said romantic phrases to one another.

Out of what seemed like nowhere, a rush of students came running into the cafe, including Marius looking at Grantaire and saying, "Get off your ass! It's starting." The two jumped up and Grantaire took the chair they were sitting on to the barricade. The girl, waved to Eponine and then took off to find the other women.

When Marius came back into the cafe he spotted Eponine and ran over to her, "Hey little boy, what's this I see?" He now whispered, "God Eponine, the things you do."

"I know there is no place for me. Still I would rather be with you." She smiled softly at him.

He shook his head, "Get out before the trouble starts. Get out Ponine, you might get shot." He sighed.

"You know I won't listen. I am not letting you out of my sight."

"Just promise to stay back from the barricade when the fighting starts."

"I promise."

"Good."

"Marius!" They could hear Enjolras shouting from outside.

When they heard the yelling, Marius started to leave, but then turned to give Eponine a passionate kiss. When the kiss was over, Marius quickly ran out to the barricades.

Eponine touched her fingers to her lips and turned around to see a startled Gavroche, "What? Have you not suspected this?"

Gavroche did not say a word, only hugged his big sister tightly, grinning. However, their moment was gone when they heard the words, "They're getting ready to attack!"


	7. Chapter 7 - The First Attack

The two ran out and Gavroche ran up to the barricades, which made Eponine's heart race. She watched the battle, standing beside the cafe. None fell, but a few got injured and Eponine helped the people inside the cafe. Although she helped the best that she could, the girl was not a nurse and she had barely any idea what to do. She had had no education.

When the few waiting inside heard shouts coming from the barricades, Eponine stood up to see the boys rejoicing. Well, all except Enjolras, "They will be back again, make an attack again." He shook his head.

The boys stepped away from the barricade and Eponine ran over to Marius. She sighed then hugged him, "I am so glad you did not get hurt."

"Me too." He laughed, but she saw fear in his eyes.

"Why are you fearful?" She tilted her head, "I thought you believed in this."

"I do. What are you talking about Ponine? I'm fine."

"Don't play stupid with me. You are aware I know you better than that. I can see the fear in your eyes." Eponine ran her fingers through his hair.

Marius sighed and then looked up at her, "I have a bad feeling about this, and it sounds weird and bad to say this, but not for me. For everyone else. You should clear out of here before it gets worse."

"Marius, I will not desert you now." She hugged him again, "Maybe you should rest."

He nodded in agreement, but got distracted with more shouting, "He's back!"

The man Enjolras had appointed to spy on the guard had come back to the barricades and they let him through. "Listen my friends, I have done as I said. I have been to their lines, I have counted each man, I will tell what I can. Better be warned, they have armies to spare and our danger is real, we will need all our cunning to bring them to heel."

Everyone looked around at each other in shock, yet Gavroche was not too sure about this man. He just did not know where he had seen him before.

Enjolras responded to his now worried, fellow students, "Have faith," He turned back to the spy, "If you know what their movements are, we will spoil their game. There are ways that our people can fight! We will overcome their power!" At this, the students started rejoicing once more.

When the spy responded, it all clicked to Gavroche who this man was. Getting off his little perch on the barricade, he ran over to the man, "LIAR!" He pointed his finger at the man and all of the students stared at him in shock, wondering what he was talking about.

Gavroche rolled his eyes and continues, "Good evening, dear inspector, lovely evening my dear." He looked around at his fellow students, "I know this man, my friends! His name is Inspector Javert! So, don't believe a word he says cause none of it's true. This only goes to show what little people can do."

"Bravo little Gavroche, you're the top of the class!" Grantaire grinned at Gavroche as a group of students surrounded Javert and took him inside the cafe where they tied him to one of the pillars not knowing what to do with him.

"Take the bastard now and shoot him!" Courfeyrac offered.

Enjolras shook his head. "We have other things to focus on now."

All of the sudden they heard marching coming from beyond the barricade and all the students looked around at each other. Eponine gulped and looked over at Marius who was motioning for her to leave, but she wouldn't and he knew it.

They all ran back out to the barricades horrified of what they were going to see and they were right by doing so. The national guard was in a line and ready to attack. Eponine reached for Marius's hand, but he was no longer by her side.


	8. Chapter 8 - A Little Fall of Rain

As the students took their positions on the barricade, Eponine looked around worried for Marius and her little brother. Rain began to softly fall down on them as she looked up at the sky wondering if this was some Heavenly sign. She climbed up the side of the barricade, taking a place next to Marius to see what was going on. In the corner of her eye, close to Courfeyrac, Gavroche sat holding a gun almost as big as him.

****Eponine gulped not for sure knowing what she was doing, but something was telling her that she had to be up here. After the national guard said some commands to his soldiers that Eponine did not understand, she watched them draw out their weapons. Not too soon after, Enjolras gave a command and the firing had begun. When a bullet came flying past her, she grimaced and looked down at her arm, realizing that the bullet had in fact skimmed her arm, but even with the pain she kept pressing on. She had one goal: protect Marius.

Enjolras was not kidding when he had spoke about the national guard being a much stronger force than their foes in the first attack. These men were definitely trained more extensively and much more merciless. They did not appear to have a scrap of feeling in those cold, beady eyes. It was actually not going too poorly until the national guard had the upper hand and began to climb the barricade.

It was then that Eponine noticed a soldier of the national guard whose gun was only about two feet away from Marius who was too distracted picking something up that she could not make out. This is when Eponine knew what God wanted her to do. As quickly as she could, she dove across the heaps of furniture and when the man was going to fire, she turned the gun on herself instead. She felt a shot of overwhelming pain when the bullet hit her in the stomach.

Marius was threatening to blow up the barricade, freaking out not only the national guard, but also his own men. When the national guard finally retreated, everyone scolded him for being careless, but ultimately thanked him.

Eponine had taken her cap off her head and held it to her stomach to try and stop the bleeding, but was unsuccessful. It was then when the other students realized that she was here. Marius immediately ran over to her, his smile fading. She maintained her footing and he looked at her highly concerned.

"Eponine, what do you got there?" He motioned at her hat. When she pulled away her cap to show the blood gushing from her stomach he shook his head, "No." He teared up as she stumbled, but he caught her. The other students looked in shock, not knowing that she had been here this whole time, much less that she had been shot.

Sitting down against the cafe, Marius held Eponine in his arms. It had begun to pour. Even though Eponine was in a tremendous amount of pain she looked up at Marius, smiling, "Don't you fret, Monsieur Marius...I don't feel any pain. A little fall of rain, can hardly hurt me now." She breathed heavily before going on, "You're here. That's all I need to know. And you will keep me safe, and you will keep me close...and rain, will make the flowers grow."

Marius shook his head crying, "But you will live Ponine!" He looked up at the sky, "Dear God above!" Then he looked back down at her, caressing her face with one hand, keeping the other on her wound, "If I could heal your wounds with words of love."

She looked into his eyes, "Just hold me now and let it be. Shelter me. Comfort me."

"You would live, a hundred years, if I could show you how. I won't desert you now."

"The rain can't hurt me now." She gasped, "This rain...will wash away what's passed. And you will keep me safe, and you will keep me close. I'll sleep in your embrace at last!" She smiled the widest she ever had in that moment before grimacing from pain and going on, "The rain that brings you here is Heaven blessed. The sky begins to clear and I'm at rest, a breath away from where you are, I've come home, from so far."

The two sang to each other in duet, but slightly different for each side, referring to each other. Eponine looked up at the hysterical boy and knowing that she had loved him with all her heart, but that it was time to live with God. "Hush don't you fret, Monsieur Marius. I don't feel any pain. A little fall of rain, can hardly hurt me now."

"I'm here." He continued, still slightly hopeful that she would make her way out of this alive.

She was now crying too, from pain and sad to have to leave her Marius so soon, "That's all I need to know." She choked on her words, trying to get more breaths, but there was no more air left in her weak lungs.

"And I will stay with you, till you are sleeping."

"And rain..." She managed to get out.

"And rain." Marius looked down hopefully at the love of his life.

"...Will make the flowers..." It was at that moment when Eponine spoke her last words in this life and her body laid an empty tomb of a soul that was once there. Her spirit left her body and lingered by Marius's side for what seemed like ages, before stepping off toward the light.

"Grow..." Marius held Eponine's lifeless body to him, praying for her to come back, but she never did. "Oh God Eponine." He choked out his words, "No." The poor boy started bawling and even Enjolras who was not a weak man was sad to see one so intelligent to go. This is why he didn't want her fighting in the first place.

Little Gavroche came running from behind a pillar and sat next to his sister, crying as well, whispering words that no one could make out except Eponine who was smiling down at him from Heaven. Enjolras and Courfeyrac then took Eponine's body to the side of the cafe and laid her down on the pavement away from all the misery.

When Enjolras came back, he began to speak to his students who were now discouraged. They knew this could have meant death, but they chose to fight anyway. Now they were afraid that there was truly no hope and that Enjolras was just leading them to a vicious death.

He began, "She is the first to fall. The first of us to fall upon this barricade."

Marius looked up at him, still crying, "Her name was Eponine. Her life was cold and dark yet she was unafraid."

"We fight here in her name."

"She will not die in vain."

"She will not be betrayed."


	9. Chapter 9 - I Have A Letter Monsieur

Eponine opened her eyes to a warm summer day after she had been walking for what seemed like days, but had only really been a few hours. She found herself in a meadow, out of her ratty bloodstained clothing and into a beautiful white gown with no tight corset to go underneath. Her skin was relieved of her bruises and she appeared to be like one of the beautiful, rich girls, but better. Words could not describe the beauty that Eponine had been transformed into and when she saw it herself, she was in shock.

She walked around looking for something she was not sure of. All of the sudden she saw an older man dressed in a white robe and she knew it was God. Eponine fell down on her knees, "Oh Father, why am I here with you? I am a wretched girl!"

"You are beautiful my daughter. Rise and walk with me."

Eponine still did not believe that she was worthy to be with her creator, yet she did not want to disobey. She was just in a complete and utter state of awe before she worked up the courage to ask, "Father, why do I look like this?"

"This is your spirit. You have one of the most beautiful spirits capable of holding so many things including love, compassion, and sacrifice no matter the suffering you had been through before."

"But I have forsaken you. I have left Marius unprotected."

"Perhaps, my child it was not your duty to protect Marius."

"What does that mean?" Eponine was puzzled by God's statement.

"Your heart no longer yearns for Marius and soon Marius's heart will not yearn for you."

Eponine was ready to protest even to God, no matter what he would do or say to her, but then she realized that he was in fact correct.

She looked back up at him, "If my heart does not yearn for Marius then who's does it yearn for? What am I to do?"

"You are a smart girl, capable of so many things. It may not be your job to save Marius directly, but to point another in the right direction."

Eponine was puzzled, "But who? And how can this be?"

"You were children together."

Eponine thought back to when she was a child and enjoying life at the inn. Back then she was a horribly spoiled brat, well she had to be to be the daughter of the Thernardier's. That's when she remembered the girl in whom He was speaking of. The servant girl whose mother was poor and father had abandoned the family. "Cosette?"

"I am certain you will be able to save him especially if you have her and her father's care. They are good people. I trust in you to fulfill this task."

Eponine smiled, "I will LORD." Then she paused, slightly confused, "But how do I find my way back to Paris? I am in a whole different world."

"Look down."

When Eponine turned to state that she was still confused, the LORD was gone. Then she took the advice and looked down, finding herself outside the convent. She knew exactly where to go.

She appeared to Cosette first in a dream, but when she awoke Cosette found the girl standing beside her bed. When Cosette went to scream out for her father because there was a girl in her room, Eponine said, "Do not be afraid. I am here in God's place."

Cosette looked up at the girl confused then asked, "Eponine? What are you talking about?"

"I was the first to fall at the barricades, but that is not what I am here to attend to."

"You died? Oh Eponine, I am sorry for what I thought of you forgive me, please."

"Cosette! Listen, I do not have much time here. You need to listen to me and do something instructed by God." When Eponine had Cosette's full undivided attention, she continued, "Do you remember the boy at the marketplace?"

"The one who was with you?"

"Yes, him. His name is Marius and he does not know it yet, but he loves you. He did not see you before as you had seen him because he had loved me. When I was on Earth, I was meant to protect Marius, but my heart is being saved for another I have not found yet."

"You're telling me to love Marius? What is this for?"

"If you do not help him at the barricades, he will die."

"But I cannot help him! I know nothing about fighting."

"Your father must go in your place."

Cosette looked at Eponine as if she was crazy, "He is old! It is too dangerous. What if he falls in battle?"

"He won't. It is God's will for this to happen Cosette. After the fighting's done, Marius and your father will return safely home and your family will prosper." Eponine looked at Cosette, noting how foolish she was compared to her, but could not feel any sort of anger in her heart towards her.

"I am afraid that is all the time I have to visit you. Remember my message." Then Eponine smiled at Cosette, "God is with you my sister."


	10. Chapter 10 - At The Barricade

After her visit to Cosette, Eponine decided to pay a visit to her adopted father just in case his daughter did not tell him of what she had just seen. This was of all places to see an angel, so he would certainly believe her if she told him. When Eponine got to his room, she greeted Valjean similarly to how she greeted Cosette.

"Greetings Monsieur, the Lord is with you."

When the man gave her a puzzled look, she went on, "God looks down on you in love and has asked of you a favour."

The man seemed to come to his senses, but did not deny what he was seeing, "Whatever am I to do in His name?"

"You must save the life of an innocent man."

"But who?"

"A boy named Marius. Cosette knows of him rather...fondly. You see, I had cared for him once, but alas, I am not alive and cannot help him as long as I am not living."

"How do I save him?"

"You shall find him at the barricades. All of the others have fallen, but the barricade at Cafe Musain still stands tall. However, it will probably be overrun in the span of just a few days. Marius is destined to come out of this alive, but only if you help him."

"I will do what I can to help my Lord and this poor child."

"There is no doubt of your success. Go now, be careful. There is trouble in the streets tonight."

Back at the barricade, the boys, even Enjolras, were quickly losing hope. Marius was full of both grief and guilt for the death of his beloved.

When he was finally resting, Eponine appeared to him in a dream. He was confused at this sight. "Why must God torture me with your presence if you are not really here?"

"How do you know that I am not really here?"

"Why, this is a dream and dreams are certainly not real."

"I seem to recall that I was once your dream. Was I not real?"

"That is when you were alive."

"There are a lot of things that can make this possible, but I am certainly real even if this may be a dream."

"Oh, Eponine." The boy sighed, "I am sorry for what happened. I wish it could've been me instead."

The girl shook her head, "Don't be sad for what happened. It is not your fault and it is not entirely a bad thing." She sat down next to the boy. "It was simply my time to go and be with God. You can not obsess over the past."

"I just miss you so much. Everyday you're not here, it kills me inside."

"I will always be with you even if you cannot see me. Right here." Eponine placed her hand in the middle of Marius's chest, over his heart.

The boy placed his own hand over hers, then sighed once more, "You feel so real. It is as if you are actually here in not only spirit, but body too."

This time Eponine sighed. She had not felt this badly since she died. "I wish I was here with you, but you must come out of this alive."

"What are you talking about? I do not want to go on without you. Eponine, are you even listening to me?"

Eponine would have been in tears at this point if she was still a mortal being, but alas all of her tears had dried up and her body was abandoned somewhere she did not know. "You are destined to come out of this alive."

"What about the others?" Marius questioned her. When she didn't answer he got angry and yelled, "EPONINE, ANSWER ME!"

She could feel her heart breaking as she silently shook her head, and went off as the boy, now awake was being surrounded by the other boys of the barricade. They were trying to calm him down, thinking he was crazy. "She was really here, I am not crazy!" He looked at them, crying, but then realized it was no hope. Even though he did not completely believe what had just happened, he knew that she had certainly been there.

Even though he was still in pain, it seemed as though when she touched his heart a wave of relief had passed over him. It was as if a little piece of Eponine was stuck inside him and telling him that everything was ok. This feeling also gave him that maybe God was leading him into a much different direction than he thought.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Volunteer

After Valjean had been visited by the ghost girl he knew he had to find the boy - and fast. There was no telling how long he had until the lone barricade fell, but he knew not too long. The national guard were well beyond capable of overtaking the few ranks of students left.

He had left Cosette, writing a note that simply said he had business to take care of and should be back in a few days time, if not sooner. Valjean left the note on his bedside table and did not actually tell Cosette he was leaving, knowing that she would press him with questions that he could not bring himself to lie in response to.

After he had left the convent, he started heading in the direction of Cafe Musain, where the girl told him the last barricade was. When he saw lines of national guard, he knew he was not going to be able to slip by unnoticed, so he stole a fallen guard's uniform and put it on. After he was disguised, he thankfully slipped by the other members of the guard without them turning their heads. At last he made it to the barricade, where the students started yelling and aiming their weapons toward him.

"Do not shoot!" He held his hands up in order to show that he had truly meant no harm, "I come here as a volunteer."

"Approach and show your face!" A student shouted, and Valjean quickly did as was said.

"You wear an army uniform!" Another shouted.

"That's why they let me through." He responded.

"You have some years behind you sir."

"There is much that I can do."

After a few questioning lines of analysis, the students finally let him through to the other side of the barricade. That is when he noticed his arch enemy Javert. After a little while, Valjean convinced Enjolras to let him kill the spy. When he departed Enjolras looked at all of his men and then to Courfeyrac.

"Courfeyrac, you take the watch, they won't attack until it's light." He paused, looking back out at everyone, "Everybody keep the faith."

He smiled and went on, but Marius was no longer paying attention. He was still distraught over everything that had happened even if he had a slight more sense of relief within him thanks to Eponine's appearance. Although there was one thing that troubled him. She had basically told him to move on, a thing he would never think to do, especially if it had been from Eponine herself. As much as he wanted to argue with her, he could not help, but shake the feeling that she was right. In fact, he KNEW she was right.

She had let him go, and now it was time for him to do the same for her.

At this point in time, Grantaire had begun a somber song we now know as "Drink With Me".

After a few lines with all of the students of the barricade singing with one another and passing the bottle around, Grantaire started once more, "Drink with me, to days gone by. Can it be, you fear to die? Will the world remember you when you fall? Can it be, your death means nothing at all? Is your life, just one more lie?"

All of the men stared onward as if they were looking death in the eye. Most, if not all of the men started to tear up, knowing that they were the only barricade standing and knowing that their next attack will be their final fight. Even Enjolras looked distraught, knowing he had once and for all, lead his men to a gruesome fate. While he usually had words to boost his fellow men's spirits, he had run out of things to say giving that he was an honest man and that anything positive he would have to say would be a lie.

Enjolras walked over to the troubled Marius who was hastily trying to add more furniture to the barricades in order to reinforce them. Knowing this was pointless, Enjolras set his hand on Marius's shoulder, looking him in the eye, "Marius, rest."

Luckily, Valjean had been there to overhear Enjolras speaking Marius's name. He now knew which boy he had to lead from the barricades alive, yet he was unsure how to do so.

When all of the students finally were at rest for the night, Valjean prayed to God that he would have the ability to bring him home, still not entirely sure why he had been chosen for this task.

**Little did they know just how bad their opposing forces were.**


	12. Chapter 12 - The Final Battle

Eponine watched over the boys day and night, with a protective eye even though she knew they were not coming out alive. It was going to cause her pain to see the others fall as she did, but she knew it will be happy in the end. She just needed to ensure that Marius would come out of this alive. That was her only concern. It was her only concern on Earth, and nothing really had changed. Except for the fact that in Heaven she couldn't really do anything to stop any events that might unfold in the days ahead.

Valjean was worried about how he was going to save Marius. This was not just a simple task. The forces were strong and he knew Marius was not going to abandon his ranks this far into revolution. He was sticking with them until the end, however that might turn out.

Marius knew that the end was near, but he did not want to admit his feelings to all of the other students, even though they all knew the same thing. What they did not know is that Marius was said to have been coming out alive, but Eponine had not said about any of the others. He figured he would keep these things to himself.

Enjolras was quickly losing his confidence in the revolution that he had once had only a short week ago. Everything had happened so fast and he truly believed that he could make a change. He had no real fear of dying, but he had a fear of his men dying. Going into this, he knew that he would have to see some of his friends fall, but he would never be able to truly get over the hole it left in his soul. Now that the end was drawing closer, he could not help feel like he had betrayed and let down his beloved Patria.

All of the boys and Valjean were looking at the little ammunition they had left.

Marius sighed, "The rain ruined the powder, we're low on ammunition."

Obviously all of them knew this, but they still did not know what to do. Marius piped up again, "Let me go into the street. There are bodies all around, ammunition to be had, lots of bullets to be found."

Enjolras shook his head before saying, "I won't let you go, it's too much of chance."

Marius looked out at everyone, "And the same is true for every man here!"

Valjean then piped in, thinking this may be his moment, "Let me go! He's no more than a boy. I am old, I have nothing to fear."

While they were arguing about who was going to get ammunition, almost none of the boys noticed Gavroche climbing over the barricade until he yelled, "You need someone quicker and I volunteer!"

All of the boys immediately turned in horror. Combeferre looked at him with a worried and scolding expression at the same time. He held out his hand, "Gavroche." When Gavroche refused it, he insisted, "Gavroche, come here."

At this point in time, Courfeyrac was trying to see over the barricade to see exactly what was going on. When he saw Gavroche wandering in plain sight of the enemy, Courfeyrac attempted to jump over the barricades to him, but the others held him back. "Gavroche what are you doing?"

Gavroche began to sing a familiar song a little louder, when a shot was fired and barely missed him. He turned back to where the bullet had hit the barricade, which only caused him to sing even louder and more angrier. At this point Courfeyrac was at the edge of the barricade trying to run out to Gavroche, but the others were still holding him back.

"So you better run for cover when the pup grows...!" At the start beginning of his last phrase, a bullet penetrated through the boy causing everyone's heart to break, especially Courfeyrac. Before he could finish his last word, another bullet ran through him and the boy took his last breath.

At this moment, the boys could no longer hold back Courfeyrac and he went lunging forward to retrieve Gavroche. When he saw him close up, he fell to his knees and sobbed, broken-hearted to have lost one he considered as a brother.

After he just sat there, looking at poor Gavroche, he picked his lifeless body up in his arms and ran to the other side of the barricade where he broke down. As he set his body down, Combeferre, knowing how much the boy had meant to his friend, embraced him and began to sob as well.

After only a few minutes of silence, the boys heard a shout from the other side of the barricade, "You at the barricade listen to this!" Enjolras looked over the other side to try to make out who was speaking.

"The people of Paris sleep in their beds. You have no chance, no chance at all. Why throw your lives away?"

Angry at how relentless they were, having shot down many of his people including the innocent and poor little Gavroche, he shouted back, "Let us die facing our foes. Make them bleed while we can."

"Make them pay through the nose." Combeferre added, still embracing Courfeyrac.

"Make them pay for every man." Courfeyrac spat out.

Enjolras did not turn back to his men one more time before he sang, "Let others rise to take our place until the earth is free!"

The next few minutes went by in a blur. The boys were only able to fend off the national guard from the barricade for a few moments. When they started climbing the barricade, the boys did their best to stay strong and knife them, but they were usually beaten by a bullet through the chest.

Jean Prouvaire was among the first to fall in the final battle. The boy once infatuated with love, only wanted to get away from the firing. He banged on the nearby doors and yelled for them to open them, but they only drew the shutters and bolted the doors in an attempt to keep the peace between the guard. Within the next few moments, he was shot down.

The few remaining boys including Marius, Enjolras, Courfeyrac, Combeferre, and Valjean decided to barricade themselves inside the cafe. However, when Marius was running to the cafe, he was shot in the shoulder and fell. Valjean ran after him and took him to the sewers in an attempt to get him safely out of the fight.

The boys failed to barricade the cafe doors and the national guard came charging through as they were upstairs. When they realized that the guard was under them, they froze not knowing what to do, having backed themselves into a figurative corner. The guard shot aimlessly, striking every boy down except Enjolras. He looked down at his fallen friends, frightened that he would soon be the next to go.

Meanwhile, Grantaire emerged from a corner in the cafe where he had gone unseen, for he had been in a drunken slumber, to find a sudden quiet atmosphere. He gasped at all the dead bodies, and worried for a moment that Enjolras might be among them when he heard a shuffling coming from upstairs. As quickly as he could, he ran up the stairs to find Enjolras standing by the upstairs window, surrounded by the guard with the flag in his hand.

When he saw Enjolras, they had nothing to say to each other, but Grantaire took his place next to him, standing next to the only thing he had ever believed in. As Enjolras raised the flag, the guard fired, striking Grantaire down first before Enjolras fell back into the window.

The last ones left were gone from Earth.


	13. Chapter 13 - The Garden of the Lord

Eponine watched as her little brother left his body and journeyed into Heaven much like she had. She also saw the others fall in battle much like she had, only way more gruesome. This was the end. The revolution was over. Even though they had not won, it had seemed like they had when she heard all of the rejoicing around her. She smiled and ran towards where the noise was coming from.

* * *

Valjean quickly had gotten Marius through the sewers, only to be stopped twice: once by the evil con Thenardier and of course Inspector Javert. Javert had warned Valjean of his relentless behavior, but he kept persisting to take Marius to the hospital. At this point, he did not care if Javert was to go after him, he only cared for God's will now. To his surprise, Javert did not follow him. As a matter of fact, that was the last anyone had ever seen the inspector.

When Valjean reached the hospital, the nurses took Marius from him and dressed his wound. It was not bad enough to cause any serious damage, but it would take a few weeks for the boy to recover.

Cosette started visiting Marius at the hospital every day. At first he was hesitant to let Eponine go, but he knew this was what was meant to be in his heart and they quickly bonded. On one of Cosette's evening visits they talked of the real reason their whole romance had began.

"Why did you start coming here in the first place?"

"My father told me to take care of you."

Marius looked over at her, only believing part of it, "And what's the other reason?"

Cosette sighed and got out of her seat next to the hospital bed. She looked out the window and then back at him, "Eponine came to me."

He was confused, but only for a short while, "What?"

"She told me to take care of you because she could not. And also, that you did not belong to her anymore."

He paused, unsure what to say to Cosette. Although he knew this was true and he still had feelings in him for Eponine, he knew that he was quickly falling for Cosette. She was a lot more down to Earth than he thought she would be.

"She told me the same thing."

"So I suppose we have her to thank for...whatever this is then."

Marius took Cosette's hand in his, "Love."

* * *

_"Do you hear the people sing, lost in the valley of the night, it is the music of a people who are climbing to the light."_

Eponine kept hearing faded out singing that seemed to be coming from every direction, but could not ultimately find a source. She then looked out over a cliff to see a barricade much larger than the one at Cafe Musain. One that was truly fit to keep evil out.

She pulled up the skirts of her dress and ran down the hill like a child running down the stairs on Christmas morning. When she got to the barricade she saw the angels floating around, but could not find anyone singing the familiar tune.

As she sighed and was about to leave she saw a door in the middle of the barricade. She attempted to open the door, but it did not budge. All of the sudden, something bright caught her eye from below her and she looked down to find a golden key. When she put the key in the keyhole and turned it, the door opened with ease.

After she stepped through the door she could hardly believe her eyes. Everyone of the students of the ABC were gathered around. They were all clean and blood free. She smiled and then she noticed her brother running towards her.

"Gavroche!" She yelled and ran to him, picking him up and hugging him close to her.

"Eponine!" The boy lunged up into her arms, "I missed you."

Eponine was in tears, "I missed you too."

When she set him down, she was greeted by the others including a strangely sober Grantaire. One by one the others greeted her until only one was left.

Enjolras stepped forward and bowed his head. "Mademoiselle."

"Monsieur." She smiled.

As he reached for her hand, she did not hesitate to hold it out to him. He took it and kissed the top of her hand gently, as a common sign of respect. When he released her hand, she was still smiling at him which caused him to smile in return.

"Welcome to life beyond Earth. Your freedom."

Enjolras was still gazing at Eponine, "This is not exactly quite as I pictured it, but I am beginning to believe that this is far more perfect than my dreaming."

Eponine blushed in response. "Shall we?" She spun around and walked back through the door she had come from and led the students to salvation.


	14. Chapter 14 - A Perfect Fit

Eponine obviously enjoyed her time before the rest of the revolutionaries joined her, but with them in her life forever, she was so thankful. She never wished for any of this to happen to any single one of the boys, much less all of them. Of course, she never pictured herself dying the way that she had. She pictured herself starving to death or a much more gruesome murder if it had indeed gone that way.

Eponine, of course, was still somewhat in denial of being granted happiness for eternity. All she  
had known was pain and despair. Though the first few years of her life had been happy, her family had been living a lie and her parents quickly had gotten bored with treating her like a china doll. Instead, they began to mistreat her not only with words, but physically as well. When that got boring, they decided to let her fend for herself, but still used her to scheme people out of their money. So, it was strange to imagine that a girl who was nothing but a mistreated daughter of scum, would turn out to be happy for once.

Of all the students, Eponine felt like she could trust Enjolras the most. He had always been well  
spoken and angelic on Earth, and in Heaven, was almost the same. Perhaps he was an angel graced upon the face of the Earth to help sculpt the minds of the mere mortals, but that is a mystery known only between the Lord and his angel.

Everyone had known of Eponine's life as a street urchin, but did not know too much into it. Of  
course God knew, and Marius had one day pieced together the puzzle. However, now she did not have a single bruise to show for the life she had known on Earth, her clothing fit properly, she never got filthy no matter how much she walked in the dirt, and she never got hungry. As relieving as it was, it also frightened her for some odd reason.

One day, Eponine was walking in a shallow creek, the water not going past her ankles. Her dress  
was thankfully at her knees instead of being all the way down to her toes, despite how improper this way of dress was in any ordinary situation. She smiled, engulfed in the beauty around her. Butterflies were fluttering around her and she could hear birds chirping from the nearby trees. For once, she did not mind so much being on her own, when she soon realized she wasn't. When she heard subtle splashing from behind her, she knew only one person would attempt to sneak up on her so poorly.

Before turning around, she said, "You know, if you want to sneak up on me Grantaire, you are  
going to have to be a little quieter."

The man she thought to be Grantaire laughed, but she quickly realized this was not the laugh of a  
light-hearted skeptic. "Was it really that bad that you could mistake me for Grantaire?"

Eponine spun around, "Monsieur Enjolras. I apologize. For what are you wasting your time following me?"

"I was not following you, more of trying to catch up to you."

"And what were you trying to catch up to me for?" She was puzzled, still aimlessly plucking flowers from a nearby tree branch.

"I do not quite know. Perhaps, I wanted to converse with someone else for a change."

"No offense, Monsieur. Even though I have made it this far, I do not believe you should be  
wasting your time speaking with me."

Instead of listening to the girl, Enjolras moved forward, persistent. That was always one of the  
many powers to him. While the women fawned over his beauty, the students respected him because of his never ending lack of courage and his persistence.

"I can assure you, that if I felt like I was wasting my time, I would not be here."

Eponine did not know what to say to argue in her defense so she sighed and let him speak with her. "Go ahead then."

"What is that?"

"If you wish to converse with me, you may. Now pick a subject for conversation."

Enjolras had no idea what he wanted to speak with Eponine about, only that he had a burning desire to simply speak with her, no matter the subject. He had known what had brought this on. A  
feeling perhaps? He liked the way she smiled and blushed at him whenever they eyed each other. The two did not speak much, they never really had, but yet they seemed to know exactly what was going on.

"You are still the same girl you were, no matter how proper you appear to be. You are equally  
brave as you were when you died a martyr."

"Then why is it that I have just now caught your eye?" Eponine barely made the words out over a  
whisper, but she stood strong and Enjolras heard her perfectly.

"How-"

"You know too."

The two sat there silent for a moment before Eponine went on. "I do not wish to ambush you with  
the obvious, but I am outspoken. This you should know by now. I am not like the other girls. I will not wait for your undivided attention or complain to you about what I want. Simply, I will be happy with what I receive in return. That is the way I have always lived, and yes it is still with me."

"Mademoiselle, I am not asking you to be like the other girls. You have to know by now that I  
never cared about any of the other women back on Earth."

"I suppose I knew."

"Then I suppose we are a perfect fit."

As much as Eponine wanted to protest, she longed to be in his strong arms and Enjolras wanted  
nothing more than to hold her there. So, much to his surprise, Eponine ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I suppose you're right."


	15. The Epilogue

_**Just a note: I know this has an odd end for a story, but after a long time without writing, I really can't think of an ending for this. I was trying to make it E/E since of my new found adoration for the ship, but I really can't think of anything that isn't cliche and hasn't been written before. So I'll just give you a wrap up. **_

* * *

_-The Convent-_

The day was here. Despite her life growing up in the convent, Cosette had always dreamed of getting married and starting a family. Up until she had become close to Marius, she never thought it would truly happen though. As much as she loved the nuns, she could never imagine becoming one herself.

After not much more than a little over a month, Marius had asked her and she said yes without any hesitation. Wanting to be married as soon as possible, they had the wedding not too long after the engagement. Ever since the barricade, Marius did not feel the same, but Cosette helped him find himself again and gave him happiness that no one else could possibly offer him. Though they were thrown together under odd circumstances, they were truly perfect for each other and could not have been more in love.

When Cosette and Marius stood hand in hand at the altar, though they could not be seen from the human eye, all of the fallen students gathered around the church hand in hand watching the best day of their friend's life unfolding in front of them.

Before the departure of the students, Eponine looked over at Enjolras who was standing right beside her. When he caught her gaze and looked down at her in return she whispered, not but one word, smiling, "Happiness."

Enjolras nodded, looking down at her, "Forever."

"Forever."


End file.
